L.A.'s traditional "June gloom" weather was nowhere in sight on Monday, June 19, as 40 foursomes teed off at the Malibu Country Club for the 5th Annual Mix L.A. Open. Blue skies and moderate temperatures made for a perfect day on the links, and the course, generally agreed upon by tournament participants to be "challenging," resounded with the thwack of club-meets-ball, the puttering of golf carts and shouts of "Eagle!," "Uh, oh, birdie!" and "Cool swag!"

At 10 a.m., after a breakfast buffet, warm-up buckets and a putting contest, cheerful players headed out with high hopes and brave predictions. Several hours later, almost all returned to the clubhouse tanned (okay, a few burned), relaxed, hungry and still cheerful to enjoy the Ocean Way Recording/Sony Pro Audio-sponsored awards banquet.

Sponsors went all out this year. Soundelux reprised their popular weenie roast, and the irrepressible Emtec/BASF bunch offered much-appreciated beverages along with an impressive collection of good jokes. Other sponsors - including The Village, Design FX, Westlake Audio, Sony Studios, Record Plant, Fairlight, Howard Schwartz Recording, JBL, Audio-Technica and Electronic Musician - provided essential moral support for the intrepid players, along with golf balls, tees, shirts, cigars and other creative memorabilia. First-prize trophies were awarded to The Recording Academy's team, comprising Michael Greene and son Andy, Mac Davis and Jay Jovanovich, who scored a 16-under-par 56. Second-place statues went to Team JBL's Lou Wilhelm, John Reda, Mike Whitt and Mark Nelson. Third-place bronze medals were taken by Soundstorm's awesome twosome, Charlie Meister and Mark Furey.

Audio-Technica's Mike Edwards won the Soundelux-sponsored "Closest to the Pin" competition and happily scored a new putter. A Liquid Metal driver, for the Audio-Technica-sponsored "Longest Drive," went to Charlie Meister. AID's Tom Slowey took the Electronic Musician-sponsored "Longest Putt" prize.

Proceeds from the charitable event, which sells out every year, go to House Ear Institute, an organization dedicated to the study and prevention of hearing loss and to scholarship programs of the Mix Foundation for Excellence in Audio. Tournament director Karen Dunn proclaimed 2000's L.A. Open another resounding success, and stated, "It's great to see all these people out here enjoying themselves for a worthy cause. We really appreciate the support of all the sponsors and the players, and plan to continue the event for many years to come."